California: Story and Photos
10 miles before Amboy my scooter puttered to a stop
like it was out of gas. After adding
the gas that I was carrying, the bike would not start. Upon removing
the cowl, I noticed
that the spark plug was loose like in Oklahoma. The bike had good compression
and
spark, but still would not start. I pulled the plug again and Joe noticed
it was dry even
though we gave it plenty of gas. After rebuilding the carb, and checking
the jets, the bike
still would not start! Joe poked a screwdriver down the spark plug
hole, discovering a
hole in the piston. The loose plug caused too much air to enter the
cylinder, making it run
lean. This caused the hole in the piston.
Joe towed me and my bike a quarter mile to
an old abandoned gas station and
restaurant. Fortunately my cell phone worked, and I called U-Haul to
find a local rental
agent. Joe took off for a one and a half hour ride to the nearest truck
rental place, which
did not answer the phone. By the time he got there they had rented
the last truck. I called
my Father in Los Angeles who made the hour drive to pick up my truck,
and the three
hour drive out to where I was stuck. After six hours of waiting alone
in the desert, my
father arrived.
It was really late, so we threw both scoots
in the back of the truck. After a
midnight meal in Victorville, Joe decided to spend the night in a local
cheep motel. I went
home with my broken P200, and returned the next day with my Rally 200.
We decided
that since we came this far, we might as well finish Route 66.
Before leaving Victorville, we stopped at
the California Route 66 museum.
Unfortunately, they were closed on the day we stopped.
The rest of the trip went smoothly. We were
sad to see that the two original 50's
"golden arches" Mc Donalds in San Bernidino and Azusa had been torn
down. Ironically
the one in Azusa was replaced with a new Mc Donalds designed to look
like an old one.
Before entering Los Angeles, we stopped at
Scooters Bellissimo in Pasadena since
it is on Route 66. We left in a cloud of blue smoke through downtown
LA, and towards
the end of our journey in Santa Monica.
At the end of Route 66 we stopped to check
out the plaque denoting the end of
Route 66 "Will Rogers Highway." Our journey ended suddenly at the Pacific
Ocean. We
had traveled 2,400 miles of the greatest highway in the world.
At Orange Crush the following weekend, Joe
was honored with the furthest ridden
award.
Waiting for the train in Goffs, CA
Where I got a hole in my piston. 10 miles east of Amboy, CA.
Route 66 museum in Victorville, CA (I used my 1976 Vespa Rally 200
for the last leg of the trip)
Another Wigwam Motel in San Bernidino, CA
Scooters Bellissimo on the Colorado Blvd portion of Route 66 in
Pasadena, CA
At the end of Route 66 in Santa Monica, CA
Back to
the Scoot 66 Page
This page created and maintained by Mike
Frankovich